NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans knew if they drafted a quarterback with the No. 1 pick overall that they would have to improve the offensive line.
The time has arrived that they start finding out just how well the renovation turned out.
Cam Ward and the Titans open this season Sunday at Denver against a Broncos defense that led the NFL with 63 sacks and ranked second defending the run.
“We got a real stiff test, so we’re going to find out," Titans coach Brian Callahan said Monday. “But I feel good about where we’re at. I think a lot of it’s due to the work put in. We're a more talented group up front, I think from positions one through five.”
The Titans certainly revamped the line. Only l eft guard Peter Skoronski stayed in the same spot with JC Latham moving from left tackle to right as the team's only offensive linemen to play every snap in 2024. The other returner is center Lloyd Cushenberry limited to eight games by an Achilles tendon injury.
They signed left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency.
General manager Mike Borgonzi said the protection has been good through the preseason and he feels good about the offensive line. The Titans went 2-1 with joint practices against Tampa Bay and Atlanta and a preseason finale against Minnesota.
Tennessee tied with New England in allowing 52 sacks last season, ahead of only Houston, Seattle, Cleveland and Chicago. That helped the Titans rank ahead of just Cleveland with a minus-16 turnover differential in the NFL.
That made improving the line an offseason priority.
“The biggest thing was protecting him (Ward), and I think we’ve done that with the offensive line,” Borgonzi said. “There’s going to be bumps in the road as you go along the season here. But we feel good about the group that we have out there right now.”
They have nine linemen on the roster and four more on the practice squad for crucial depth. One brought back to the practice squad is Corey Levin, who has played 71 games going into his seventh NFL season. He worked at center all offseason with Cushenberry recovering.
Denver coach Sean Payton isn't surprised at what the Titans did, especially having worked with Tennessee offensive line coach Bill Callahan before.
"He is a fantastic line coach, and I’m sure they felt they had to get better in that area and they committed a lot of resources there,” Payton said.
The Titans signed Cushenberry to a four-year deal in March 2024. He returned from the physically unable to perform list Aug. 18 and didn't play in the preseason. Callahan said Monday that Cushenberry has worked with Ward to build chemistry snapping the ball.
“Yeah, we would like more, but I think they’ve made up for lost time pretty quickly here," Callahan said. "And Lloyd’s a real pro. He’s a vet. He knows how to get ready.”
Cushenberry said he never doubted he would be back for opening week, bugging trainers on the timeline. He wants to prove to himself that he deserved the big deal he got, and Cushenberry said all the offensive linemen know talking does nothing.
“We've got to go prove it and get better from last year,” Cushenberry said.
Run blocking also is an area Tennessee has plenty of room to improve off last season when the Titans went 3-14. They tied for 19th in the league in averaging 109.1 yards rushing a game. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz said they see improvement there especially with Latham and Zeitler on the right side.
“There’s just more balance through the O-line,” Holz said. "I think then you can kind of not just be a left-handed dominant run team, which we were at times last year. And now you hopefully can kind of run to both sides a little bit and have a little better feel for that.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press
